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Salvation Army in Las Cruces sounds message of holiday need as donations slide

By Lindsey Anderson / landerson@lcsun-news.com

Posted:
12/10/2012 04:45:39 PM MST

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Allie Booker, a bell ringer for The Salvation Army, brings joy to the holiday season while singing, Jingle Bells, outside of Hobby Lobby recently while collecting donations in the red kettle for the organization. Donations can now be made via mobile devices by texting or scanning a QR code with a smartphone.

The Salvation Army bell ringer said she leaves behind whatever troubles she may have and puts on a smile when collecting donations for local families, much like a clown does. Gone is the fact that she doesn't have heat, that two toddler grandchildren will be arriving from Juárez in a few days to live with her. Here is the smile.

"A smile kills anything," she said in Spanish while collecting donations outside Walgreens on Lohman Avenue. "My sadness is (left) in my house."

The Salvation Army has dispatched more than a dozen bell ringers like Soto across town to spread holiday cheer and ring in donations now through Christmas Eve. Though it's the organization's main fundraiser of the year, donations are down 30 percent, said Scott Schneider, who oversees the Las Cruces branch's operations.

The group aims to raise $80,000 this year, matching last year's intake.

Donations go to Christmas gifts and food baskets for local families in need and to Salvation Army's programs throughout the year, from helping people make utilities payments to feeding evacuees during disaster situations, Schneider said.

For the first time in Las Cruces, people can donate by text or by using smartphones to scan the QR codes, cubical barcodes, on the pail stands.

Money raised here is used here, Schneider said. The Salvation Army will distribute Christmas toys and food in Las Cruces and Hatch.

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Even people who once donated to the Salvation Army are asking for its help, Schneider said, and some small, local food pantries have dried up, so people are going farther for resources.

"People have less money to give us, and we have more people asking us for help so that's kind of a double whammy for us," he said.

Many of the ringers themselves are struggling — Soto lacks heat; ringer Allie Booker "needs a little something for Christmas."

Ringers earn minimum wage and the job is temporary, sometimes a few days, sometimes for the entire season. Shifts are eight hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A maximum 12 ringers are out on the town on Saturdays, a high traffic day. Throughout the week, their numbers vary, Schneider said.

How much money she earns doesn't matter, Soto said.

"To me, it's very important," she said. "I feel very satisfied."

"It's a joy to do this," Booker said while ringing outside Hobby Lobby. "It's not just a job, it's a joy."

"I'm ringing in Christmas, and I'm ringing in money for the poor," she said. "I'm just doing a lot of good for Las Cruces and giving them a smile."

Bell ringing isn't just a "money making operation, Schneider said.

"We are looking for people who will share the joy of the season," Schneider said. "This is a really tough time of year for a lot of people."

All kinds of people donate, Booker and Soto said, young, old and in between, men, women, veterans. Booker sends her blessing and thanks to each of them, and they all smile when she lets them ring her bell after depositing cash or coins in her red pail.

"They haven't paid me to shut up yet," she said with a smile.

Lindsey Anderson can be reached at 575-541-5462. Follow her on Twitter @l_m_anderson.

Ways to give

— Drop cash and coins in the red pails outside locations like the Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Walgreens

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